Brooyar State Forest

Brooyar State Forest is a scenic natural park located in the hills north-west of Gympie on the Sunshine Coast.

It offers a peaceful retreat from city life with its eucalypt forests, rainforests, and hoop pine plantations. The park features lookout points like Point Pure and Eagles Nest, which provide breathtaking views of the region. Eagles Nest is also popular for rock climbing and abseiling. The rainforest around Glastonbury Creek is another tourist spot known for its serene and picturesque beauty.

The park offers walking trails of varying difficulty levels to cater to different fitness levels. The Glastonbury Creek Loop walk is a mild 8.6km return walk through the eucalypt forest and grass trees. The Point Pure walk is a bit more strenuous at 4.3km one way, involving an uphill walk along a 4WD track to reach the lookout. Eagles Nest offers a short walk to a similar lookout with sandstone cliffs and views of hoop pine plantations and mature rainforest.

Brooyar State Forest provides a serene camping area near Glastonbury Creek. This cozy and quiet setting allows visitors to appreciate the sights and sounds of the rainforest. The campsite is located beside the shallow, sandy stretches of Glastonbury Creek, offering opportunities to observe platypus, crayfish, shrimp, turtles, eels, and fish.

The best time to visit the park is during summer when the trees in the camping area bloom with vivid orange flowers. Autumn also offers a scenic view with the changing leaves of white cedar trees.

To access Brooyar State Forest, one needs to travel to Gympie and then take the Bruce Highway for 10km north.